the(new)mediaslut

themediaslut was introduced to Starhub’s Pfingo service on Thursday evening and by weekend, the only service that impressed her so far was Pfingo’s Talk, the VoIP service.

Justin Lee for Entrepreneur27, one of the 30 testers, has a good intro of what Starhub Pfingo service is all about. The three services of Pfingo are Pfingo Active,  Pfingo Mail and Pfingo Talk. That makes number 27 (28 belonged to Omega who commented earlier).

26th tester is Oo Gin Lee, who freelances for The New Paper and blogs at CNET Asia, and he has launched the "Unofficial’ Pfingo blog here.

Pfingo tester number 25 is denialtan .   

So why does themediaslut says that Pfingo is Starhub’s answer to Skype services?

If you have heard of Skype, then you should be aware of the Skype-in and Skype-out services.

Skype-in allow Skype users to register a number in a country which friends of the Skype account users can call in. Skype-out, on the other hand, allow the Skype users to call out to a mobile or land line from a Skype account.

However,  visit the Skype website and everything is charged by the Pound. This means you would have to multiply everything by 3 to covert it to Singapore dollars.

Starhub’s Pfingo Talk provides almost a similar solution.

When you register for the account, Starhub also provide you a Level 3 number.

Level 3 numbers at numbers that start with 3 and are designated for VoIP use in Singapore.

This is almost equivalent to the Skype-in service.

During the briefing, Starhub highlighted they would be introducing Pfingo call-in numbers for different countries but did not say when or how much it would cost.  

There a few ways of using Pfingo Talk.

You could download the Pfingo Talk softphone software onto to your PC and use dial out to a mobile and land line. This is equivalent to Skype-out.

If you do not wish to use the softphone software,  you could use the VoIP service via your WiFi enabled mobile phone.

The Pfingo website allow you to forward your Level 3 number to a mobile phone or land line when the softphone is not in used.

In this trial, themediaslut was given the Nokia E65 to test out the features.

Setting up the Nokia E65 was easy though it could have been better if the Pfingo gave clearer steps in the Pfingo Talk overview page.

All you need to do is to click on the Configure Mobile link and send a SMS setup to your phone. Accept the SMS and your WiFi enabled is ready for VoIP service.

Another feature of the Pfingo Talk is that it updates and records your phone calls online immediately when you end the call. This allows you to check on the calls you have made and the charges related to each call instantly.

Currently, themediaslut does not get charge for a call-out via the VoIP service for local calls, and there are no charges for themediaslut when somebody calls themediaslut’s Level 3 number.

However, themediaslut gets charge for making for oversea calls but is only billed for the IDD services. (Note, for the trial, themediaslut is given S$20 credit for the Pfingo Talk service.)

themediaslut isn’t sure if Starhub is going to make local calls inclusive of the monthly fee it is going to charge. But if they don’t, than compared to the Skype-in and Skype-out services, PFingo call-in and out services for local Singapore number is, therefore, free.

This would definately give Skype a run for its money.

The other two services, Pfingo Active and Pfingo Mail, doesn’t interest themediaslut at all as they look like the classical download approach that most telcos use to attract users to use its 3G or WiFi service.  

Now that themediaslut has gotten the attention of Starhub, could the product and marketing manager there please read themediaslut’s killer application for 3G and let her know what they think of it.

pfingo